I want to study nature scientifically and discover new phenomena! I want to use the power of molecules to bring safety and security to our lives!
We provide education and research that combines chemistry and biology, which are fields of science that seek to elucidate natural phenomena, particularly by viewing familiar local resources and assets as chemical and biological systems and exploring their true nature, with informatics (the science and engineering of information), which provides the means to extract and utilize data related to these essences.
We provide an education that combines "chemistry," which clarifies the structure and properties of atoms, molecules, and their aggregates, and analyzes material-related phenomena at a molecular level; "biology," which focuses on the structure and properties of living organisms and the life phenomena they control; and "informatics," which is indispensable for comprehensively understanding phenomena related to matter and life, and for creating useful materials based on that understanding.
In the first year, students will study common subjects for the Faculty Faculty of Science and Engineering, as well as common subjects for natural sciences and information sciences, to develop the foundations of science and engineering and acquire the ability to use data.
In the second year, students will study the basics of other courses through specialized foundation subjects to improve their basic engineering skills, and will also begin studying course subjects. In addition, students will learn the basics of semiconductor engineering regardless of their specialty.
First year
By studying common subjects for the Faculty Faculty of Science and Engineering, as well as common subjects for natural science and information science, students will develop the basics of science and engineering and acquire the ability to use data. In the second semester, students will also take an Introduction to Science and Engineering course to learn the outline of each course.
Second Year
In the first semester, students will study the basics of other courses through specialized foundation subjects to improve their basic knowledge of science and engineering, and then begin studying course subjects. Students will also learn the basics of semiconductor engineering regardless of their specialty. In the second semester, students will focus on studying course subjects.
Third Year
Students will continue to study course subjects from the second semester of their second year. In addition to acquiring a wide range of specialized knowledge related to the field, they will also conduct computer-aided experiments and exercises in order to integrate and utilize that knowledge.
Fourth Year
The main part of learning in the fourth year is practical, through graduation research. By applying the knowledge acquired up to that point to problems set in each field, students will make their knowledge more essential and develop their problem-solving skills.
The structure and function of DNA, the body of genes, are the basis of molecular biology. This course aims to understand molecular biology based on the flow of genetic information, from DNA to genomes, from structure to function and control, from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Molecular biology explains and understands the phenomenon of life, especially the phenomenon of genetics, at the molecular level below the cell. Starting with the molecular structures of DNA, RNA and proteins, students will learn how their relationships create life through intangible genetic information. It is not simply a case of A and B binding together, but rather the timing, strength and amount of binding are beautifully controlled. The class will proceed while students make use of their individual abilities, just as molecules cooperate with each other.
In our bodies, normal proteins cooperate with each other to carry out vital activities, but when these proteins denature and form abnormal aggregates, they can cause disease. For example, it is said that the abnormal aggregation of amyloid beta and tau proteins is involved in the onset of Alzheimer's disease, and that the abnormal aggregation of a protein called alpha-synuclein is involved in the onset of Lewy body dementia. We have succeeded in developing an evaluation system that visualizes these proteins using nanometer-sized fluorescent substances and efficiently searches for minute amounts of substances that suppress abnormal aggregation. Currently, we are using this method to search for substances that are useful for preventing and treating dementia from natural resources in Hokkaido, such as Ainu traditional useful plants and seaweed.
Research Field
Protein Chemistry
Main research themes
Searching for anti-dementia substances from natural substances produced in Hokkaido